Louder Than Thunder
by temperanceluvr
Summary: Chris Mouto has always been good at strategy games, and when she discovers that an ancient spirit resides inside her millennium locket, she becomes even better. Who is this mysterious spirit and what is her connection to the Pharaoh? JoeyxOC TeaxYugi SetoxOC as well as more OCs as the story progresses Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

***Chris POV***

Joey Wheeler and I were playing the popular card game, duel monsters, while waiting for class to start. Joey was new to the game of duel monsters while I was practically an expert at it.

"And that leaves you with zero life points," I said triumphantly to Joey.

"What?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Wow Joey, you really suck at this game, don't you." Tristan mocked.

"Hey, speak for yourself you nimrod." Joey said back as I giggled.

"Don't worry about it Joey, I'm sure you'll get better at it eventually." Yugi said trying to encourage his friend. "Besides, Chris has always been really good at strategy games, so it's not like anyone has a chance against her anyway."

"It's true," Téa said. "I've tried to beat her at duel monsters before and can't figure out how she does it."

"There's nothing to figure out," I said honestly with a laugh. "I honestly just play the game as best I can, that's all there is to it."

"You mean you don't have a strategy?" Joey asked shocked.

"I wouldn't say that Joey," Yugi said. "Chris stays up some nights and figures out new combinations and strategies to use."

"Yugi," I exclaimed, my face turning slightly red. "You don't have to tell everybody!"

After school everyone came over to the game shop that Grandpa Mouto owned. I went upstairs to put my bag away when I noticed something on my desk. The keepsake box grandpa had given me seemed to be glowing from the inside. I walked over to it and opened it up. The locket inside was glowing, but when the box opened, the glowing subsided.

"That's weird…" I said picking it up and looking at it. "It's never done anything like _that_ before."

"Chris, are you coming back down here?" Tristan called up the stairs.

"Oh, yea, I'll be right there!" I called back over my shoulder. I put the locket on and tucked it underneath my shirt. "I wonder if it'll glow like that again."

I soon rejoined my friends just as Seto Kaiba walked into the game shop. He saw the card grandpa was showing to the others and he ran to the counter, his eyes wide. "I can't believe it! The blue eyes white dragon in a dump like this!" he said shocked.

Grandpa put the card away and Kaiba seemed to get irritated. "Look here old man, I'll trade you all of these for that one card." He opened his briefcase and showed it to him. It was full of duel monsters cards.

"Nice, but no thanks," Grandpa replied.

"Then I'll buy it from you, name your price." Kaiba said determined. "I can pay any price."

_Why does he want that card so badly?_ I wondered. _Sure it's a rare card and all, but why is he so obsessed with it?_

"I'm sure you could, but you see, this card means more to me than you'll ever know." Grandpa explained. "A dear friend gave me this card and I treasure it as I do that friend."

"Fine, I've heard enough of this nonsense you senile old fool." Kaiba said storming out of the game shop.

I got the eerie feeling that Kaiba wasn't going to give up so easily on getting his hands on that card. After a few minutes, I suddenly began to feel dizzy.

"Hey Chris, are you feeling okay?" Téa asked me worried. "You don't look too good."

"I'm fine, just feeling a little dizzy is all." I said reassuringly. I staggered to the stairs and grabbed onto the rail when I fell to my knees and everything went black.

***Two Days Later***

Yugi had explained to me that I had passed out and had been asleep for two days. He also told me about the situation between Grandpa and Kaiba.

"Where do you think you're going?" Grandpa asked as I started to put my shoes on.

"I'm going to school, of course." I replied.

"Chris, you should try to rest today, what if you pass out again?" Yugi said walking over to me. I saw the millennium puzzle hanging from his neck and I felt entranced by it. "Hello? Earth to Chris!"

I snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, right, well if I don't go to school I'll fall behind everyone else and…"

"Téa and I will take good notes for you, so just go lay down, alright?" Yugi pleaded.

I sighed. My brother sure knew how to use those big eyes of his, even if it was subconsciously. "Fine, I'll stay home today and rest."

He left for school and I went into the living room while Grandpa went into the shop. I watched a bit of TV before feeling tired. I went back upstairs and collapsed on my bed before falling asleep.

***Yugi POV***

When I got home, Grandpa told me that Chris was asleep in her room. My friends came over and we put the duel monster regional championship on TV.

"Hey, how's Chris doing?" Téa asked.

"She's still pretty out of it." I replied. "I hope she hasn't gotten sick."

"Yugi, this package came for you today." Grandpa said handing me a package.

"It's from Industrial Illusions." I said opening it up. Inside there was a videotape, some kind of glove and two small gold stars. "I wonder what this stuff is for."

"Pop in the videotape and let's see what's on it." Joey suggested.

"Alright," I said putting the tape into the VCR.

Maximillion Pegasus appeared on the TV screen.

"Greetings little Yugi I am Maximillion Pegasus." He said.

"The well-known Pegasus sends greetings to my Yugi?" Grandpa thought aloud.

"I have heard some terribly interesting things about you Yugi." Pegasus said. "I've decided to investigate your dueling skills personally."

"Huh?" I was beginning to get confused. _What was Pegasus talking about?_

I felt the room change and I looked around to see that I had ended up in some kind of other world with Pegasus right in front of me.

"Before we begin, I'd like to inform you that we will be playing for very high stakes in this game, little Yugi." Pegasus said. He lifted up his hand and my eyes widened as I saw that he was holding Chris' favorite hair ribbon. "That's right Yugi boy, I have taken your sister."

***Chris POV***

I woke up and realized that I was in some kind of dungeon. It was dark and musty. I heard footsteps approaching and I was shocked to see Maximillion Pegasus standing in front of me. One of his guards opened the cell door and threw a young boy into the cell beside me.

"I thought you might want some company… Ms. Mouto." Pegasus said with a smirk.

"What do you want from me?" I asked. I saw a light flash from behind Pegasus' hair and my locket began to glow from underneath my shirt. I pulled it out and stared at it. "It's doing it again…"

Pegasus walked toward me with a smile on his face. "_That_, Ms. Mouto, is what I want from you." He said. "Now hand it over like a good little girl."

I clutched onto the locket. "You can't have it!" I said although I was scared at what he would do if I didn't give it to him.

"Now that's not smart, Ms. Mouto… you're stuck in a cell inside my castle on my private island… what could you _possibly_ do to stop me or my men from getting it from you?"

My hand began to tremble. "I… I…" I knew that he was right. There _wasn't_ anything I could do, but I also knew that I couldn't just give him to locket that my grandpa had given to me. Tears formed in my eyes. "Please… please don't take it…"

***Mokuba POV***

I saw a flash of light from behind Pegasus' hair and the girl's body fell over onto the floor. Pegasus bent down and ripped the locket off of her neck. "Now she can't come back… unless _she_ is still alive…" he said as he walked out of the cell and had his guard lock it again.

"What did you do to her?" I asked frightened.

"Oh don't worry… she's perfectly safe..." he held up a card that had a picture of the girl on it. "…in here…"

He laughed and walked off, leaving me alone with the girl's soulless body. I hugged my knees and started to cry softly to myself. After a few minutes, I heard a soft sound and looked over at the girl and saw that her eyes were empty but her lips were moving. She was singing an old nursery rhyme. It was barely audible, but her voice was somewhat calming to me. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***Chris POV***

I held onto my knees, singing the nursery rhyme I had learned in grade school, tears rolling down my cheeks. _I'm so scared… someone… save me…_

"It's alright… you don't have to be afraid…"

I looked up at the sound of the gentle voice. Standing in front of me was a girl who looked like me, except she was wearing an Egyptian styled dress. She smiled at me.

"Who… are you?" I asked.

"A friend," she replied, her voice kind and gentle. "I must be going now, but we shall meet again…" she began to fade into the darkness.

"Wait—" I called out to her. "At least tell me your name!" but she had already gone.

***Tristan POV***

I was looking through Pegasus' castle to try and find Mokuba and Chris while Yugi dueled with Pegasus. I had gotten into the lower levels of the castle and ran across a goon who seemed to be guarding a dungeon cell.

The guard sighed. "What's the point of me sitting here anyway? It's not like the brat can do anything without her soul…"

_He must be talking about Chris! _I quickly knocked out the guard and went over to cell and saw Chris leaning against the wall, her eyes open but lacking emotion. I took the keys I had taken from the guard and opened the cell door. I lifted her onto my back and started to make my way back to the others.

As I ran through the hallways I realized that Chris was singing an old nursery rhyme. Her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear her, but I took it as a sign that she was alright. I quickly made my way back to the others.

***Yugi POV***

As we looked for Pegasus, Tristan stopped.

"What is it Tristan?" I asked.

"It's Chris… I think she's coming to." Tristan replied.

We all rushed over to him and saw that Chris _was_ waking up. She opened her eyes and looked up.

"Huh… what happened…?" she asked as she got off Tristan's back.

"Chris… you're alright…" I sighed in relief. I saw that her eyes were filling with tears and she began to cry. "Chris, what's wrong?"

"I was… I was scared…" she cried. "I was so scared Yugi…"

I smiled and wiped away her tears. "It's alright Chris, you're safe now. You're gonna be alright now."


	2. Chapter 2

before I forget... this fanfic is going to follow the anime, but not completely. There are some differences and some changes to the anime's plot. Just keep an open mind when reading this and know that this **_is_** just a fanfiction.

I am going to give quick descriptions of the OCs in my stories so that everyone will know what they look like. I will only do this when the character makes their first appearance (so i messed up on chapter 1, but oh well)

**Chris Mouto (age: 15)**** - **_Yugi Mouto's sister, she's 10 months younger than him; has black hair and blonde bangs as well as purple eyes; owner of the millennium locket; only person to ever beat Yugi at duel monsters; really good at any kind of strategy game_

**Spirit of the Locket (age: unknown)**** - **_little is known about the spirit that resides inside the millennium locket however it is evident that she comes from ancient Egypt (sorry people~ that's all I'm giving you for now~)_

**Rose Kaiba (age: 17)**** - **_Gozaburo Kaiba's daughter, Noah Kaiba's older sister and Seto and Mokuba's step-sister; she is now bound to a wheelchair and even though she has had a rough life, she is always smiling_

**Isis Ishtar (age: 10)**** - **_younger sister to Marik and Ishizu Ishtar; she was born blind and has a frail body, so she is very susceptible to illness; she possesses a kind of ancient magic within her body which allows her to duel alongside her brother_

* * *

***Chris POV***

I was watching the shop while Yugi and the others went to bring Grandpa home from the hospital. I sat on the counter and swung my legs back and forth. _I wonder who that girl in my dream was… and why did she look like me?_ I wondered.

I picked up the millennium locket and stared at it puzzled. Yugi had found it when he, Joey and Téa had gone to see if Pegasus had released everyone's souls. It hadn't glowed again since we left Duelist Kingdom, but it wasn't like I was really expecting it to.

"Man, I wonder what is so special about these millennium items anyway…" I mumbled to myself.

***Isis POV***

I sat on my bed as the boat rocked back and forth gently with the motion of the waves. I was going through my duel monsters deck, doing my best to practice my magic.

There was a knock on the door. "Isis, are you awake?"

"Yes, I'm awake." I replied. I heard the door open and felt someone sit down beside me on the bed. I picked up one of my cards and sighed. "Why is it, brother… that my magic is so powerful, yet I can't seem to use it the way you or sister can. I can't even summon a simple duel monster… It's not fair! If only I wasn't blind I would be able to help you gather the other millennium items more easily!" I said frustrated.

Marik hugged me comfortingly. "It's alright Isis, you're fine just the way you are." He stood up and took my hand. "Come on Isis; let's go get you something to eat."

I stood up and Marik led me into the kitchen. I felt so helpless being blind—I even had to have Odion help me with certain foods. Odion put a sandwich in my hands and I ate it quietly while he and Marik discussed their plans for when we landed.

***Yugi POV***

I was beginning to get worried about Chris. She had never gotten over the incident from when we were in grade school and I was afraid that she might have relived the whole experience while being held prisoner by Pegasus.

The day after we brought Grandpa home from the hospital, she didn't come downstairs. I went to her room and knocked on her door. "Chris…? You alright?" I asked.

"Go away…" she said from behind the door.

"Chris, what's wrong?" I asked. "You can't stay locked up in your room forever."

She didn't reply but I could hear that she was singing that old nursery rhyme again. I sighed. Ever since grade school she would sing that nursery rhyme as a defensive mechanism. I walked back downstairs and saw Tristan, Joey and Téa sitting in the living room.

"Hey guys," I said as I joined them.

"How's Chris doing?" Téa asked

"Not too good." I replied. "I think she ended up reliving what happened to her when we were in grade school."

"What happened in grade school?" Tristan asked.

"Well… we were on our way home from school when we stopped by the park to play." I explained. "But Chris saw a little kitten and ran after it before I could stop her. When she didn't come back I went looking for her but she was gone."

"She just… disappeared?" Joey asked.

"No—she was kidnapped. Two men thought that they could use her to get some ransom money. When I had made it home, grandpa told me that the police were already looking for Chris. After a few hours the police were able to find and rescue Chris."

They were silent for a minute before I continued. "When they brought her home, she was still singing the nursery rhyme." I looked to the stairs. "This is just like back then too…"

I remembered Chris staying in her room for a week after she was rescued. She wouldn't come out even for food and kept singing that nursery rhyme to herself.

"Back then… Chris only came out of her room when Kaiba's sister, Rose came to see her."

***Chris POV***

I was lying on my bed crying into my pillow. I heard my door open and looked up to see a familiar girl enter my room.

"Rose," I said sitting up. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see how you were doing." Rose replied wheeling over to me. "I heard you had quite the ordeal on Duelist Kingdom. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to cheer you up."

"You're very kind Rose," I said forcing a smile onto my face before it quickly faded away. "But I'm afraid that nothing can cheer me up…"

Rose took my hand. "You know… normally I hate people who whine all the time… but in your case… it would be okay…" she looked up at me and caressed my cheek. "To complain… be selfish… Say what you want… once in a while… it's okay… to let yourself be sad…"

I felt myself being comforted by her words and tears formed in my eyes. I learned forward and cried into her shoulder. I cried out of the fear I had felt and the trauma I had relived.

***Marik POV***

I stood in the doorway watching Isis go through her duel monsters deck on her bed. She might have been born blind, but she was still a very powerful duelist. The powers of her millennium item allowed her to sense which cards she had in her hand even if she couldn't see it with her eyes.

"Marik, we're almost to Domino City." Odion said as he walked over to me.

"Good, once we land we'll start our search for the millennium items." I said to him. I turned back to Isis. _Don't worry Isis… once I gather all the millennium items I will heal your eyes and you will finally be able to see this beautiful world._

***Chris POV***

I was wandering through the streets of an old Egyptian market wearing ancient Egyptian clothing.

"There you are little sister." I turned to see a boy standing behind me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down the street. "Come on, I've got a job for you."

"But Bakura—wait where are we going?" I asked as he pulled me toward a palace.

"You're going to steal something for me." Bakura said once we reached the palace. We were in front of a small hidden entryway in one of the palace walls. He let go of my arm.

"From the palace? But that's impossible!" I said to him.

"If you are my sister then it _is _possible." He said to me. He glanced around. "Now go, quickly before the guards find us!"

He pushed me into the entryway. "What am I looking for?" I asked quickly.

"The heir's precious millennium puzzle. Now go!"

I ran through the halls of the palace, not knowing exactly where to go. I heard voices coming around the corner and I hid behind a column. I saw the prince walking down the hall with a girl beside him. I felt my heart beating fast as I became worried that I would be caught. The prince turned around and I pressed myself up against the column, hoping to become invisible.

"Mana, go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." The prince said. The girl nodded and walked off while the prince turned to where I was hiding. "You can come out now."

I quietly walked out from my hiding place. "Please… please don't punish me!" I begged.

"Why would I punish you?" the prince asked. "You haven't done anything wrong, have you?"

"I…" I wasn't sure how I was supposed to respond.

"If you haven't done anything wrong, then there's no reason for you to be punished." He said kindly.

"CHRIS!"

I shot up as Yugi yelled my name. He was banging loudly on my door. I got up and walked over to the door.

"Yugi…" I yawned. "What is it?"

"Chris, I can't believe you're still in your pajamas!" Yugi exclaimed. "The tournament starts soon!"

"Oh shit!" I said before slamming my door and quickly getting dressed. "I can't believe I overslept!"

***In Domino City***

"This is kinda nerve-racking, isn't it? This is going to be my first ever tournament." I said as I walked around with Joey. "I am kinda nervous…"

"Ah, don't worry about it, you'll do fine." Joey said patting my head.

I blushed. Joey had always been kind to me—even before he and Yugi became friends. I smiled as we continued to walk down the street looking for dueling opponents. I saw two hooded men walking toward us and began to feel uneasy.

"Um… Joey…" I said grabbing onto his arm.

"I see them." Joey said. "Don't worry Chris; I can take 'em."

I felt a hand grab my arm from behind and another cover my mouth. The person held me tightly in their arms while the two cloaked men knocked out Joey. I struggled to get out of the person's grasp, but they were too strong. One of the cloaked men lifted Joey onto their shoulder while the other pulled out a white cloth and walked over toward me.

"Nighty-night…" the man said lifting the cloth up to my face as the hand covering my mouth moved and was replaced by the cloth. The cloth had a sickly sweet scent and before I knew it I lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello again, this is just a quick note from me. I know that the whole point of the anime is the dueling, but I want to focus mainly on the storylines, not the actual duels themselves. I will cover some duels in part, but not in whole due to the fact it would be tiring and take up too much time. Instead, I will use my time to focus more on the storylines and the relationships of the characters._

_With that said, please enjoy chapter 3! ^_^_

* * *

***Yugi POV***

I had followed Joey and Téa down the pier to a dock where a large anchor hung above the water. I wasn't sure how I was going to free Téa and Joey from Marik's mind control, but I knew I had to try.

"Take a look Yugi," Téa said pointing up to the anchor.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that Chris was unconscious and chained to the anchor. "Chris—let her go Marik! She's done nothing to you!" I yelled.

"If you win the duel against Joey, I will let her go before sending Joey to the bottom of the ocean." Téa said. "However, if you lose, she will suffer the same fate as you."

_I have to find a way to save my friends __**and**__ my sister… _

***Chris POV***

I opened my eyes to see a strange scene below me. Joey and Yugi were dueling against each other and they had chains around their ankles around their legs and they ran up to…

I screamed. "How—what—" I struggled to get free from the chains that bound me to the anchor only to find that they were digging into my skin the harder I struggled. "What's going on here?" I shouted.

I heard Téa from a distance and turned to see her strapped into a chair underneath a metal crate held up by a crane. "Chris, it's really complicated, but Joey is being controlled by Marik and forcing him and Yugi to duel each other for the millennium puzzle and the Egyptian god card Yugi has." She shouted. "No matter what we try, Joey won't snap out of it!"

I looked down at Joey and saw that he _was_ being controlled. His eyes had lost all the kindness they once had and instead were full of a dark sinister presence. Tears formed in my eyes and my heart sank… seeing Joey like that was so hard for me. I couldn't take it.

"JOEY!" I shouted, my tears rolling endlessly down my cheeks. "Joey, do you remember when you asked me how I felt about you? I never gave you an answer then because… because… I WAS SCARED!" I shut my eyes as I continued to cry. I didn't know if what I was saying would reach through to Joey, but I had to try. "I was scared… I was too afraid at what would happen to our friendship if you didn't return my feelings! You've always been there for me, ever since the first day of high school! You've stood up for me and protected me whenever I needed help. You've always had a special place in my heart Joey… Joey…I… I LOVE YOU JOEY!"

Just then, I heard a loud beep and the anchor fell into the water dragging Joey, Yugi and me down with it. My millennium locket began to glow brightly and I felt the chains around me loosening. Even though the chains were looser, I was still being held tight against the anchor. I was about to give up hope when Joey swam down and removed the chains. He brought me back up to the surface and we rejoined the others.

"Chris… because of you, I was able to break Marik's mind control over me." Joey said to me as he wiped my wet hair off my face. "And I… I want to—"

I placed my lips against his. I didn't care now if Joey returned my feelings or not. I had gained the courage to tell him how I felt and because of that… I was able to free him from Marik's mind control.

***Isis POV***

"Here we are Isis; this is where you and I will be staying during the battle city finals." Marik said guiding me into a room. "I'm sorry you haven't gotten to duel yet, but maybe there is someone on this blimp who will duel with you."

"It's good to see you both again,"

A smile stretched across my face as I recognized my older sister's voice. "Big sister," I said turning toward her voice. I held out my arms in the direction of her voice and felt her grab my hands. She pulled me in close and wrapped her arms around me. "Big sister I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too Isis." Ishizu said kindly. "Marik, I see you are doing well."

"Ishizu, please, I must start preparing for the finals now." Marik said to her as he walked away from us. He fell silent and I could hear him shuffling through his cards.

"Brother, would it be alright if…" I asked. "Could I go with big sister for a while?"

"It's fine with me," he replied.

Ishizu took my hand and led me back down the hallway. I heard other voices and stopped when we got close to them. I felt a strange presence coming from the direction of the voices and reached out toward them.

***Chris POV***

I was talking with the others out in the hall about the upcoming finals. Joey and Yugi had both qualified while I fell short. I hadn't even gotten to duel once. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt and spun around to see a young girl and Ishizu standing behind me.

"Oh, I apologize." Ishizu said. "This is my younger sister, Isis. She's blind and has to feel her way around sometimes."

"It's alright." I said. I looked down at Isis and saw her blind eyes looking straight up at me. She seemed to be looking right at me, though I knew that was impossible.

"She's waiting…" Isis said softly.

"Huh?" Yugi asked stepping over to me. "Who's waiting?"

"Isis…" Ishizu asked squeezing her sister's hand gently.

Isis blinked and shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said. "I don't know what just happened."

That's when I noticed a duel monsters card sticking out of the pocket of her dress. "Isis… do you play duel monsters?" I asked.

"Yup," she smiled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her deck. "I haven't gotten to duel anybody other than Odion and brother yet, but I know I could win if I did."

"How can you see the cards if you're blind?" Téa asked.

"It's hard to explain," Ishizu said. "Isis was born blind but has always been able to sense things around her."

"How does that work?" Tristan asked confused.

"Brother says I was born from magic and that it's what lets me sense what cards I have." Isis explained.

"I have to admit… that's a new one for me." Joey said and I giggled.

"Hey Isis," I said. "I haven't gotten to duel anybody either… would you like to duel with me?"

She looked up at me and I saw her face light up with joy. "That'd be fun!" she said. "Big sister, I'm gonna get to duel!"

Ishizu gave a small laugh and we all went into my room and set up for the game.

***Rose POV***

I sat in the computer room looking up information on the Winged Dragon of Ra for Seto. I was doing the best job I could at translating the text on the card, but it was proving to be more difficult than I had originally thought.

"Rose, how's the translation coming along?" Mokuba asked as he and Seto walked into the room.

"Well, the network mainframe isn't having any luck translating the last few words." I said to them. "But I'm not gonna give up—I'll keep trying. Even if it takes all night, I promise to figure it out."

I was about to turn back to the computer when I saw that Seto looked shocked about something on the screen.

"Seto…? Is something wrong?" I asked.

He blinked and then turned to me. "Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it." He said sitting down in the chair beside mine. Mokuba sat in the chair beside Seto's and started typing on the computer.

"Seto, I am starting to get worried about this whole tournament." I said to him. "The things Marik said before… and the fact that people are getting hurt…"

"Rose don't worry about that stuff, it's just a bunch of coincidences." Seto said resting his head on his hand. "I'm not going to let coincidences distract me from my goal for throwing this tournament in the first place."

He and Mokuba began to work together on the computer and I watched them with a smile on my face. Seeing them so dedicated reminded me of the first day we had met.

_I was in the foyer waiting for my father's big surprise. It had been hard since my younger brother died in the accident, but I was forcing myself to stay strong for my parent's sake._

_The doors opened and two boys walked in. One looked to be about my age while the other was a bit younger. My father walked in behind them and placed a hand on the older one's shoulder._

"_Rose, say hello to your step-brothers, Seto and Mokuba." Dad said to me._

"_Nice to meet you," I said with a smile. "My name is Rose. I hope we can be good friends."_

_***Seto POV***_

_I was lying in bed having a rough time getting to sleep in my new home when I heard something from outside. I went over to the open window and saw Rose wheeling herself into the garden, the metal from her wheelchair shining in the moonlight._

"_What is she doing?" I wondered. I glanced at the clock and saw it was past one in the morning. I turned back to watch her and couldn't understand what she was doing at this hour. _

_She wheeled over to the hedges and stopped. I opened my window to get a better look at what she was doing. Rose reached into the hedge and began to pull herself up out of the wheelchair._

"_What the heck is she thinking?" I thought to myself as she clutched onto the hedge while trying to keep her balance. "Is she… is she trying to… walk?"_

_Suddenly, Rose fell to the ground, her wheelchair rolled a few feet away from her. Without thinking I ran from my room and out to the garden. Rose was still on the ground and by the time I reached her, she was crying._

"_Rose, are you alright?" I asked as I brought her wheelchair back over to her. I helped her back into it and noticed that her knees were bleeding. "You're hurt—"_

"_I'm alright…" she said through her tears. She wiped her eyes and got the dirt that was on her hands smeared on her face. When she looked back up at me I tried my best to stifle a laugh, but failed. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing at me?"_

_I wheeled her over to the fountain and showed her the reflection. She saw that her face was now covered in dirt and wet with tears and started to laugh with me._

"_How did you know I was out here?" Rose asked as I sat on the fountain beside her wheelchair._

"_I couldn't sleep," I replied looking up to the stars. "I heard something from outside and when I looked to see what it was, I saw you."_

_She blushed and smiled at me. "You're like a guardian angel," she sighed and pulled out a necklace from underneath her nightgown. It was a string with a charm that looked like a duel monsters card. She touched the side of it and it opened up like a locket. Inside was a picture of her standing beside a small horse. "Halo was like that too…"_

"_Was that your horse?" I asked._

_She smiled faintly. "Yes… he was a birthday present from daddy. He was more than a pet to me… he was my best friend. But after my accident, daddy sold him." She closed the locket and turned to me. "It wasn't Halo's fault that I got hurt, but daddy still got rid of him."_

"_I'm so sorry, that must've been very hard for you…" I said sympathetically. She lifted the necklace above her head and then put it on me. "What is this for?" I asked._

"_I don't need it anymore," she smiled kindly. "Halo used to watch over me, but I don't need him to protect me anymore. Maybe he can watch over you now instead."_

I looked over at Rose. She had fallen asleep while Mokuba and I worked on translating the text on the last Egyptian god card. I took off my coat and laid it over her like a blanket. In all the years since our adoption, she was the only person who Mokuba and I had ever gotten close to. She was Gozaburo Kaiba's daughter and yet she was nothing like her dominating father at all. Rose was much more caring than Gozaburo and also the bravest person I knew. Even with her handicap, she still managed to smile and not let anything hold her back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Nazomi (age: unknown)**** – **_a young girl from ancient Egypt who befriends the young pharaoh and is allowed to live in the palace; she is similar in appearance to Chris, but her skin is darker, her hair is black with silver bangs, and her eyes are a greyish blue_

* * *

***Chris POV***

I was standing in the park I used to visit with Yugi when we were kids. The sky was dark and thunder echoed all around me.

"Big brother, lookie!" My heart began pounding loudly within my chest and I felt my face grow hot as a seven year old me and eight year old Yugi came around the corner and into the park. This was the day I had tried so hard to forget. The younger me ran into the park and straight for the broken slide. "Lookie, lookie! They're over here!"

"Chrissy, we're supposed to go straight home!" Yugi said running after me.

"But big brother, don't you wanna see the baby kitties?" I asked as I reached the slide. He sighed but bent down beside me to peer into the small hole underneath the slide. We saw a mother cat nursing her four newborn kittens. I stared at them and remembered how I had always loved kittens when I was younger.

The mother cat got up and pushed her kittens deeper into the protection of their hiding place before crawling out and running off into the bushes.

"Wait, Mrs. Kitty!" I called after her. "What about your babies?"

Without thinking, I chased after her into the bushes.

"Chrissy, where are you going?" Yugi called after me. There was no response. My heart began to beat faster and my face grew even hotter. "Chrissy? Chrissy this isn't funny!"

Rain began to fall upon the scene. Yugi faded away and a girl began to appear in his place. It was the same girl I had seen once before when I was being held prisoner by Pegasus. It was as if I was looking into a mirror.

"You do not need to be afraid, Christiana…" she said to me. Her voice was soft and sincere.

"How… how do you know my name? Nobody's called me by my full name since I was ten…" I asked her. That's when I remembered, I didn't even know who this person was. "Are you… are you… me?"

She giggled. "How could I be you?" she asked. "You are you, and I am me."

"But… you _look _like me…" I pointed out

"That is because our souls are connected."

"Our souls… are connected…? You're not making any sense."

"You possess the millennium locket, do you not?" she asked.

I looked down at the locket around my neck. I picked it up and stared at it. "My grandpa gave this to me when he came back from Egypt… but what does that have to do with anything?"

She stepped forward. "Fate has chosen you to protect it, and thus, my spirit which lies within. I do not fully understand why we look similar, but that much I do know." She raised her hand and slowly reached out and touched the locket. The locket began to glow and we were engulfed in the bright light.

I was back in ancient Egypt, but this time was different. I was wearing nicer clothes and was walking beside the boy from before. When I looked over towards him, my heart skipped a beat as I realized that he looked almost exactly like Yugi. I had only seen him for a few moments the last time, so I didn't notice it before.

"You've been very kind to me," I said to the boy. "I don't know how I could possibly repay you for your generosity."

"You don't need to repay me, I'm just glad I could help." He said with a smile.

We came up to a small fountain and I stopped, my eyes fixed on my reflection in the water. My skin was darker and my bangs were silver instead of their usual blonde. My eyes had also changed to a greyish blue color.

"Is something wrong Nazomi?" the boy asked.

"I do not understand…" I said softly. I turned toward him. "I came here to steal from you, and yet you are kind to me. Instead of having me arrested, you allow me to stay here. You have not once treated me like a thief, but as your equal."

"We are all the same, aren't we?" He said to me, his smile full of kindness and compassion. "The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, but I believe it's what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"

***Rose POV***

I was awoken by the sudden jerk of the blimp. I grabbed onto the rail beside the computer until the turbulence dissipated.

"Rose, are you alright?" Mokuba asked running into the room.

"I'm fine Mokuba, but what's going on with the blimp?" I asked as the blimp jerked once again.

"We seem to be veering off course—we've lost control of the ship!" he said worried.

We rushed to the main control room to try and fix the problem, but nothing appeared to be working. The blimp began to tilt and my wheelchair fell over, knocking me onto the floor. Serenity and Téa rushed over to me to help before the blimp shook once again.

"What the heck is going on?" Joey asked.

"Someone's hacked into our mainframe and changed our destination coordinates!" Mokuba said as we began to descend rapidly. "We're losing altitude! Everybody hold on!"

We crashed into the water and threw us all about the room like ragdolls. Chris was holding onto Joey's waist and he had grabbed onto one of the safety rails Seto had installed for me.

"Is everyone alright?" Tristan asked.

"You mean other than the whiplash and the future lawsuit against Kaiba's company? Yeah, we're good." Joey said.

The main monitor flickered and the culprit who had hacked into the mainframe appeared on the screen. My eyes widened when I saw the familiar face.

"Identify yourself!" Seto demanded.

"Brother…" I whispered softly.

"The name is Noah and you and I go back quite a long way Seto." he said. "My game for you and your friends is about to begin."

The screen returned to normal and some kind of fortress rose out of the water. Serenity and Téa helped me get back into my wheelchair as the blimp began to descend into the strange fortress.

"Seto, please exit your ship and bring your friends with you." Noah's voice said through the speakers.

_This can't be…_ I thought as we headed for the ship's exit. _That can't be Noah…_

"Rose, you stay here." Seto said as the door opened and the stairs unfolded. "I'll go deal with this kid and then we'll get out of here and back to the tournament."

"But Seto—"

"You're staying behind and that's final." Seto said before he and the others got off the ship.

***Chris POV***

We all came upon a large room at the end of the hallway. The big five were waiting there for us and told us that we were going to be playing some kind of game with them. I didn't understand exactly what was going on, but suddenly the room began to spin.

"All ten of you will duel against us during this game and once we win, we will return to the real world in _your_ bodies." The tallest of the big five said.

"I think you need to check your math there," Joey said. "There are only nine of us here!"

Kaiba spun around and gasped. We turned around to see what he was so shocked about and saw Rose behind us. She had obviously ignored Kaiba when he told her to stay behind.

"The only way you all will get out of this is to beat all five of us in a duel." One of the big five said.

Just then, the floor underneath each of us opened up and we all fell into them. The next thing I knew I was sitting in a grassy meadow beside Rose. I noticed that her wheelchair wasn't nearby and I rushed over to her. "Rose, Rose are you alright?" I shook her shoulder to try and wake her.

She opened her eyes and sat up. "What… where are we?" she asked looking around.

"I don't really know, I think we're in the virtual world that those creeps were talking about before." I replied. "I don't see your wheelchair anywhere… it's gotta be here somewhere…" She gasped. "What is it?"

"My legs… I… I can move them…" she said moving her legs slowly. "But how can that be? I haven't been able to move my legs since the accident."

"Honestly, I'm not really sure _what_ is going on." I helped her stand up and we began walking to try and find the others. "Whatever it is, I'm sure that we're not going to enjoy it."

"I don't understand what this kid wants from us." I sighed. "I mean, what does he gain by putting us in this virtual world?" I looked over at Rose and saw that she was deep in thought. "Rose… you know Noah, don't you?"

She sighed. "He's my brother… at least, he _was_…" she said. I didn't say anything and she asked, "You're not… you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" I asked. "It's not like you _knew_ that this would happen. We can't control what other people do."

"I guess you're right…" she stopped. "Um…Chris, was that there before?"

I looked to where she was pointing and saw a door had materialized in front of us. I was feeling more and more uneasy about this whole thing by the minute. "I'm still a little confused about this place but… maybe if we go through it we can find the others. What do you think Rose?"

"It's worth a shot…"

***Joey POV***

I was in the middle of my duel against Johnson of the big five. Yugi and Téa were behind me cheering me on. Johnson was wiping the floor with me and I was beginning to lose confidence in myself when the courtroom doors opened again and Chris and Rose came running in.

"Joey…?" Chris exclaimed when she saw me. "What's…" she looked around and saw Yugi and Téa. "Yugi? Téa? What's going on?"

"Joey's in the middle of a duel with one of the big five." Téa replied. "It's not looking too good for him right now, though."

"Oh no…" Rose said.

"It's alright Joey, you can do it!" Chris said encouragingly. "You're a way better duelist than any one of those creeps! Remember to have faith in the heart of the cards and you'll cream this guy in no time!"

"You're right Chris, I'll do my best." I said before returning to my duel.

***Rose POV***

While Joey dueled with Johnson, we began to suspect that Johnson was cheating in order to give Joey a run of bad luck. There was a flash of light and Noah appeared in the courtroom.

"This duel is over—Johnson has been cheating this whole time." Noah said angrily. "I am calling off this duel right here and now."

"Excuse me, but may I make a suggestion?" Joey asked. "If Johnson agrees to play by the rules for the remainder of the duel, I'll be willing to forgive his cheating behind. That way you can still prove your strength, Noah."

"Fine, you're choice," Noah shrugged. He looked over at me and our eyes met before he disappeared.

"Noah…" I said softly. _What has happened to you brother?_

***Later*Chris POV***

"Chris, what's the matter?" Yugi asked as we watched Kaiba dueling against Noah. "You seem to be out of it."

"Yugi… have you…" I sighed. I knew that no matter _how_ I asked him, I would still sound like I was crazy. "Yugi, how much do you know about the millennium items?"

He blinked. "Well, I don't know much about them." He said looking down at his puzzle. "But inside the millennium puzzle is the spirit of an Egyptian Pharaoh."

My eyes widened. "WHAT?" I exclaimed suddenly, causing him to jump. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?"

"I, uh, well… it's not really something I can go around telling people." Yugi said defensively.

The gang all turned around to see what we were yelling about. "Did you tell _them_ about the spirit?" I asked pointing to the others. He looked away and I knew the answer was yes. My eyes filled with tears. For the first time, I was angry at Yugi. I felt as if he had betrayed me. He trusted his friends with his secret yet he refused to share it with me. He'd _never_ kept secrets from me before.


	5. Chapter 5

***Yugi POV***

SLAP

The others and I stared at Chris in utter surprise. Chris had never gotten this angry before, at least… not towards me. She stepped away from me and started to cry into her hands.

"Chris, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I—" I reached out to try and comfort her, but she backed away from me. "Chris…"

"I never thought…" She cried, her voice muffled by her hands. "I never thought that you of all people… would lie to me."

She fell to her knees and I didn't know what to do. I didn't mean to upset her, but I didn't really know _how_ to explain the situation with the Pharaoh to her.

"Yugi, you weren't lying to Chris intentionally." Yami said to me. "You were just waiting for the right time to tell her. I'm sure once you explain that to her, she'll understand."

"I know that I should've told her but…" I sighed. "Chris and I have never kept secrets from each other before, so I don't really blame her for getting angry at me."

"Yugi… look."

I looked up and saw that the millennium locket was glowing. When it stopped glowing, Chris lowered her hands and I saw that she had stopped crying.

"Chris… are you alright?" Rose asked kneeling down beside her.

Chris looked up at her but didn't seem to recognize her. That's when I realized…

"Yami, I think… I think there was a spirit in the millennium locket…" I said. "She and Chris must've switched places…"

"I think you're right… Yugi, allow me to handle this for now."

***Nazomi POV***

I realized that my spirit had somehow switched places with Chris' spirit. While in the millennium locket I was aware of the world around me. I looked up and saw Yugi kneel down in front of me.

"Are you alright?" he asked kindly.

"I am alright," I said. "Though I do not know why I have traded places with Chris…"

"Chris, what are you talking about?" Rose asked confused.

"Rose, the millennium locket that Chris has contains a spirit from ancient Egypt." Yugi explained. "It is the same with my puzzle. In fact, right now Yugi and I have switched places. I am a pharaoh from ancient Egypt whose spirit resides in the millennium puzzle."

I looked up at him. "You… you are the pharaoh?"

"Yes, and who are you?"

"I… I don't remember much," I said softly. "My name is Nazomi and the few things I _do_ remember don't make any sense to me, so that is all I know."

***Later*Rose POV***

Noah had begun to turn our friends into stone statues. I couldn't take it anymore. This wasn't the Noah I remembered.

"Noah! What has happened to you brother?" I shouted up to him, tears in my eyes. "You never used to be this way!"

"I'm not the one at fault… father is!" Noah shouted back. "He left me in this virtual world where I was all alone! He forgot all about me and focused all his attention on his _new_ family."

"That's not true Noah—"

"Don't think you're not at fault either dear sister! After I was placed into this virtual world, you never once came to see me! You had also abandoned me and chose to replace me with Seto and Mokuba!"

I clenched my fists. "You are not my brother…" I said. "The brother I knew was kind and tried his best to please our father! He and I were always playing together and having fun! He never gave up and always looked for ways to improve everything." I looked down at the ground. "I am guessing that father never told you… but the accident that put you here was my fault!"

He froze. "What are you talking about!?"

"If I hadn't chased after Halo, you and father wouldn't have followed me into the street!" I shouted. "You wouldn't have pushed me out of the way and gotten hit by that car! I should be the one stuck in this place instead of you!"

Everyone was silent. Noah fell to his knees and I ran over to him. I knelt down and wrapped my arms around him. "I am so sorry little brother… you have been so alone for so long… had I known that all of this, I would've been there for you. I would've never let you be alone…"

"I should've known you'd end up here Rose." We looked up as the sky grew dark and my father's face appeared in the clouds. "You were always too soft towards Noah and that has made him weak. I thought that this whole experience would toughen him up, but it appears that that is no longer an option. I have realized that by digitizing my own mind, my intellect has grown immensely. So I shall now digitize the entire world and rule over a new Earth!"

***Chris POV***

I had woken up in my bedroom. It was different though; there were no windows and the wall where my door was looked to be made of stone. On the stone wall I saw the outline of a door with an Egyptian eye engraved on it.

"This is… _very_ weird…" I said to myself as I walked around my room. My notebook was lying open on my desk and I smiled as I picked it up. Scribbled on one page were lyrics I had hoped to turn into songs while the other page was full of blank music staffs. "I haven't thought about these in a long time…" I said as I flipped through its pages. I sat down at the desk and began to scribble onto the pages while humming softly to myself.

***Rose POV***

Noah had told us the way out of the virtual world and was going to try and stall Gozaburo so that we could escape. As we ran to the arcade, something went wrong and the world began to fall apart. The ground shook as if there was an earthquake and I was unfortunate enough to get my foot caught in one of the crevices. I fell to the ground and a searing pain surged through my leg.

"Rose!" Seto shouted running over to me. "Rose, are you hurt?"

"This pain is nothing…" I said to him as I struggled to pull myself up. "Not compared to what he's had to endure…"

He bent down in front of me. "Hop on," he said.

I blinked. "What are you doing Seto?"

"Hurry and get on, we've got to get out of here before it's too late." He said quickly. I climbed onto his back and he carried me toward the arcade where the others were already waiting.

When we returned to the real world my legs were useless again and I couldn't get out of the virtual pod on my own. Seto carried me on his back once more as we made our way back to the blimp. As we ran down the hall, I looked over my shoulder at the large monitor that showed the clock counting down for self-destruction.

I shut my eyes and held back my tears as we boarded the blimp and began to take off. Seto helped me into my spare wheelchair that we kept onboard for emergencies and I wheeled over to the window. Chris walked over and stood beside me.

"Life sometimes deals you a bad hand and you make a lot of mistakes along the way but as long as you believe in yourself and walk along your chosen path with a smile everything will be alright." She said softly placing her hand on my shoulder.

I smiled and touched her hand. "You're right Chris… you're right…" I looked on as the base exploded and felt a tear roll down my cheek. _I know that someday my memories of you will fade… your voice, your gentle smile, I might forget them as well, but I will always remember that you were my brother. Nothing in this world will ever make me forget that or the sacrifices you have made… Noah… you've had no end of hardships in your life, but I pray that now, at least, you may find yourself resting in eternal peace._

***Chris POV***

"Finished~" I exclaimed jumping up. I smiled and looked at the filled pages of my notebook. "It's been a long time since I've written a whole song in one sitting." I giggled. "It was really fun."

Out of nowhere, I heard someone singing. The song was one I'd never heard before, yet it sounded very familiar…

"_That was great Nazomi!"_

My bedroom melted away and I was back in ancient Egypt once more. The boy who resembled Yugi was applauding Nazomi who was blushing with embarrassment.

"I did not know you were there…" she said quietly. "I thought I was alone…"

"Your voice is really pretty Nazomi, you should sing more often." The boy said with a smile.

"I don't think I could… I'm not confident like you…"

The scene faded back to my bedroom and I collapsed on my bed. "I understand how she feels…" I sighed.

"There is no reason to not have confidence in yourself Christiana." I sat up and saw Nazomi standing in front of me. She smiled. "I have heard you sing before and am curious as to why you only sing when you are afraid."

"It's… complicated…" I said. "When I was kidnapped as a kid, I was so terrified that I didn't know what to do. But that's when I remembered something Rose had told me. Rose was a class ahead of me and she taught me a trick she used to keep herself calm. She said that she would sing a song to herself, even if it was just in her mind and nobody else could hear it. Somehow, I found that it worked for me as well… after that, any time I tried to sing, I would remember being kidnapped by those men and soon I gave up singing altogether."

"Chris, you awake?"

My eyes shot open and I saw Joey standing beside my bed. It was still dark outside so it was hard to see him, but I recognized his voice.

"What is it Joey?" I asked sitting up. I rubbed my eyes. "It's still really late, isn't it?"

"Chris… I just wanted to talk to you before the finals start." He said sitting down beside me on the bed. I had never heard Joey sound so serious before. "This Marik creep is going to end up dueling one of us… whoever his opponent will be, it's going to be a rough duel."

I began to understand what he was trying to say. I grabbed his hands and held them tightly in mine. "Joey… I understand." I said with a smile. "You made a vow right?"

"Huh? What are you—?"

"I overheard you talking after Mai was sent to the shadow realm." I said. "You vowed that you would defeat Marik in order to bring her back." I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "I know that you are a good duelist, Joey. Do not let Kaiba or anyone else tell you otherwise. I believe in you. Joey, just know… know that no matter what may happen, I will always be here for you."


	6. Chapter 6

Here's a little info on the Millennium Locket in case anyone was curious about it.

**Millennium Locket ****– **_a strange artifact discovered by Solomon Mouto in Egypt along with the Millennium Puzzle; Nazmoi's spirit resides within the locket and shares Yami's amnesia of the past and who they are—the only thing Nazomi remembers is her name and bits and pieces of her memories in Egypt; the 'power' of the locket is healing **{examples in the actual fanfiction}** _

* * *

***Isis POV***

The finals were about to begin and I noticed that my brother had begun to change. I didn't know what was happening to him, but Marik wasn't acting like the brother I knew.

"Isis, are you alright?" Ishizu asked as we walked down the hall to join the other duelists.

"Big sister… is Marik sick?" I asked. "He isn't acting like himself."

She stopped and gently squeezed my hand. "It is complicated Isis," she answered, her voice calm and strong. "Marik is not himself right now, but I have a feeling that when this tournament is over, he will return to normal."

Out of nowhere I felt something calling out to me. I saw a flash in the darkness of my mind and heard a woman singing a lullaby. The flash was momentary, but the woman's voice echoed in my mind until it eventually subsided as well.

***Chris POV***

I stood with the others as we watched the semi-final duel between the Joey and Marik. Ishizu had brought Isis with her, which I thought was strange. After Marik had been taken over by his dark half, Ishizu had kept Isis in her room so that she wouldn't have to experience his evil side.

"_Isis has always idolized Marik," Ishizu explained as Isis slept on the bed. "She was only a baby when Marik's evil side first surfaced. Odion did what he could and suppressed Marik's dark side, and because of that, Isis has never known that side of Marik." She paused and looked over at Isis before saying, "I am afraid that if Isis were to ever find out about how evil Marik's dark side is… I fear that it would break her heart…"_

I understood what Ishizu said, yet I was curious as to why she would have brought Isis to the duel. Isis, though blind, seemed to sense that I was looking at her because she turned toward me and smiled.

Joey was not doing very well against Marik and his Egyptian God card, but I still had faith in him. It upset me to see him in so much pain, but I knew I had to stay strong. Joey managed to summon a monster that would have won him the duel, but he hesitated before calling an attack.

"Joey, call an attack!" I shouted. "C'mon, you've gotta call an attack!"

He fell to his knees and I knew what was going to happen. I ran forward and climbed onto the platform and rushed to his side. His eyes were open but they were completely emotionless.

"Joey, come on, wake up!" I shouted as I shook his shoulders trying to get through to him. "You've gotta hurry or else you'll lose the duel and your mind will be trapped in the shadow realm just like Mai!" he didn't respond. My heart sank. I held onto him and cried. "Joey, you've gotta call an attack… please…"

"This duel is over, the winner is Marik Ishtar!" Rolland announced after several minutes passed.

"Say goodbye to your friend's mind," Marik said walking over to us with the millennium rod in his hand. "He's going to be trapped inside the shadow realm for eternity!"

I turned so that I was shielding Joey from Marik. "If you want to hurt Joey, you'll have to hurt me too! I'm not going to let you win!" I looked away from Marik as he raised his millennium rod. _I'm sorry Joey… please forgive me…_ I shut my eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOO"

There was a bright flash behind me and I held on tighter to Joey. When the light faded, everyone was silent; the only sound I could hear was the wind in my ears. I heard something fall to the ground behind me and when I turned to look my eyes widened as I saw Isis lying on the ground unconscious.

Marik's millennium rod fell to the ground with a "clang" and he staggered backwards. Ishizu ran toward Isis, tears in her eyes, and the others rushed over to me and Joey. Ishizu cradled Isis in her arms, but Isis' mind had already been trapped in the shadow realm.

"What… what happened?" I asked the others confused.

Téa looked away fighting back tears. "Before Marik could trap yours and Joey's minds in the shadow realm, Isis suddenly ran over and shielded you." Yugi said sadly.

I felt myself begin to shake. "No… it can't be…" I looked over at Isis and my mind began to race.

Marik stepped away from Ishizu and Isis. "What… what have I done?" his voice was shaky and he grabbed his head as if he was in pain. "Isis…Isis…" he fell to his knees and screamed.

"You see what you have done?!" Ishizu shouted at Marik. "Do you finally understand why any power can become a medicine or a poison depending on the user's intention? You've trapped her in the shadow realm where she is all alone!"

Marik shook his head and appeared to be in a lot of pain. He started to shout at himself and I began to feel sorry for him. I looked down at Joey and saw that he was still unresponsive.

"Téa, could you take Joey for a minute?" I asked.

"What is it Chris?" Téa asked kneeling down beside me. I laid Joey's head in her lap and stood up. "Chris, what're you gonna…"

I walked over to Marik, who was still fighting against his evil self.

"Chris, what are you doing?" Yugi shouted.

"Have you gone crazy?!" Tristan added. "You shouldn't go near that nutcase!"

"He's right Chris, Marik's dangerous!" Duke said.

I bent down and picked up the millennium rod. "You're wrong," I said walking closer to Marik. "He's not dangerous…" I bent down in front of Marik and he glared at me. I gave him a smile and held out the millennium rod. "You dropped this,"

He looked up at me and I saw that he was truly at war with himself as he tried to control his dark side. He reached out his hand for the rod, but before he took it, his eyes changed and he slapped me instead.

"CHRIS!" everyone shouted. I heard their footsteps as they ran toward me, but I held up my hand to tell them to stop.

"It's okay everyone, I'm fine." I reassured them. I took Marik's hand and gently closed his hand around the rod, but before I let go of it, the millennium locket began to glow. A small beam of light shot from the locket to Marik's forehead and I watched as Marik's expression changed. The light vanished and when Marik looked up at me, I could tell that he was his normal self again. His dark side had finally been defeated.

"Welcome back," I said with another smile.

"Why…?" he asked. "Why did you do such a thing for me?"

"Once I saw what happened when you realized what you did to Isis, I knew that you couldn't have been pure evil." I replied. "I could see how hard you were fighting to regain control over your evil self, and I thought that if I showed _you_ a little kindness, it would give you enough strength to succeed."

I looked over at Ishizu and the others and my eyes fell upon Isis. I looked down at the Millennium Locket and a thought crossed my mind. I walked over to Isis and held the Millennium Locket over her heart.

"What are you doing Chris?" Tristan asked confused.

"I think I get it…" Yugi said watching me. "The Millennium Locket was able to help Marik defeat his dark side, so maybe it can help Isis as well."

The locket began to glow once more and a beam of light shot down from it to Isis' heart. After a few moments, Isis' body began to glow as well and then the light subsided.

I bent down beside Isis and Marik knelt beside me. Isis' eyes slowly opened and everyone held their breath as we realized what the locket had done. Not only had it brought Isis' soul back from the shadow realm, but it seemed to have also _healed _Isis' blindness. She blinked for a minute in the bright sunlight before her eyes landed on Marik's face.

"B…Brother…?" she asked stunned. She sounded just as surprised as the rest of us were. She reached up and touched his face. "This is real…? It's not a dream?"

Marik placed his hand over Isis' and tears formed in his eyes. "No Isis… this is not a dream… you aren't blind anymore…"


End file.
